The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority's (VTA) BART Silicon Valley Project was allocated $40M in Traffic Congestion Relief Program (TCRP) funding by the California Transportation Commission (CTC) at their August 2012 meeting. The $40M installment is the fourth of six, totaling $239M that BART Silicon Valley will receive under the State of California TCRP Allocation Plan which was adopted by the CTC in September 2008.

"I'm pleased that on my motion, the California Transportation Commission approved another $40M-allocation for BART Silicon Valley," said Commissioner Carl Guardino, who also is President and CEO of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group. "Having recently toured the active construction at the future Berryessa BART station, I look forward to the opening in 2017"

The BART Silicon Valley Extension Project was identified as one of 53 projects statewide eligible to receive TCRP funds in 2000, when legislation passed creating the program. The TCRP legislation identified $760M for the entire Fremont to San Jose corridor. To date, BART has received $111M for the BART Warm Springs Extension and VTA has received a total of $569M, with $79M expected over the next two years.

The Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Silicon Valley Project is a 16-mile extension of the existing BART system to San Jose, Milpitas and Santa Clara which will be delivered through a phased approach. The first phase, the Berryessa Extension, is a 10-mile, two-station extension, beginning in Fremont south of the future BART Warm Springs Station and proceeding in the former Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way through Milpitas, the location of the first station, and then to the Berryessa area of north San Jose, at the second station. VTA continues project development activities for the second 6-mile phase of the project that includes a 5.1 mile-long subway tunnel through downtown San Jose, and ends at grade in Santa Clara near the Caltrain Station. Construction on the second phase of the project will commence as additional funding is secured.